Draco Crowns the Cat
by LynstHolin
Summary: 6th year at Hogwarts,Harry attempts to use a prank item to get Draco to reveal his secrets; Harry ends up in a very hairy-scratch that-FURRY situation.DRARRY! Cat-boy Harry!Sequel to "The Crown and the Dancing Draco" but reading first story not necessary


Rating: PG-13 for mild suggestiveness... and butt-ogling

Disclaimer: JK Rowling sure is nice for letting us play with her property

PART ONE-SIXTH YEAR AT HOGWARTS

Harry couldn't believe his luck. "Peeves, I think I love you." Inside the niche before him was a bust of a wizard with a spectacularly gnarled and warty nose, and the ugly wizard was wearing a tatty old crown. Harry took the crown and turned it in his hands. Tarnished tin, glass jewels, and the words "Truth or Dare" embossed in it. Peeves had dipped into his stash of the infamous Truth or Dare crowns again.

Dumbledore had just charged Harry with the task of getting Slughorn to reveal what he'd really said to Tom Riddle when the future Dark Lord had asked the professor about horcruxes. Harry was also desperate prove his suspicions about Malfoy and Snape. Having one of the crowns show up now seemed like fate.

Harry concealed the crown beneath his robes. It made him a bit lumpy, but he wasn't all that confident in transfiguration; if he ruined the crown, he'd likely never get his hands on another. Guessing that Snape would be in his office, Harry headed for the dungeons.

"What are you doing down here?" Malfoy, flanked by the gruesome twosome, blocked Harry's way in the dungeon corridor. "It's not time for potions class or detention, so you must be... up to something." Malfoy said the last three words in a comically sinister voice, rolling his eyes and making spider-like gestures with his hands.

"You look like your crazy aunt when you do that."

Malfoy had his wand out in a split second, ramming the tip into Harry's throat. "You are not allowed to speak of my family." He pushed harder, and Harry made a gagging noise. Even through his discomfort, Harry noticed how pale and drawn Malfoy's face was.

"Draco," a familiar and annoying voice trilled, "the Weird Sisters are going to be on the WWN in five minutes." Pansy Parkinson grabbed Malfoy's hand and dragged him away in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Harry watched the pair walk away with Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind. Parkinson was hugging Malfoy's arm tightly to her chest. "I hope they play our song," she giggled, giving Malfoy a stomach-churning gooey look.

Malfoy didn't notice Parkinson making eyes at him. He was too busy glaring over his shoulder. "Next time, Potter."

Harry didn't relax until the Slytherin crew was out of sight. _Wow, I almost lost the crown. If Malfoy had noticed the bulge under my robes... Why do the Slytherins get to have a run-by-magic radio? Not fair! Is Parkinson really Malfoy's girlfriend? She's not fanciable at all! Those beady little eyes of hers, and she hasn't got anything on top... _Harry emerged from his thoughts when he reached the doors of Snape's office. He knocked timidly.

The door opened just wide enough for Snape, looking more irritable than usual, to lean out. "What?"

Harry involuntarily stepped back. "I, ah, need to, er, talk to you about something I don't understand in the homework you gave us today."

Snape sighed. "Just a moment." He slammed the door shut, and commenced making a racket of bangs and crashes for the next three minutes. He opened the door again, all the way this time. "Come in, if you must."

The office was still cluttered and creepy. Harry pretended to be fascinated by the contents of the room's shelves, both to sneak around behind the professor and to prevent eye-contact with the Legilimens. He noticed an eyeball in a jar that seemed to be swimming in the reddish fluid it was stored in. It also seemed to be staring at him, turning as he moved. He suppressed a shudder.

Snape was dusting off a skull, perhaps that of a young dragon, with his sleeve. "I haven't got all day, Potter." His back, clad in rusty black, was to Harry. Harry whipped the crown out of his robes and clapped it on Snape's head. Snape said a word that Harry had never heard a professor say before.

"Truth or dare."

Snape spun around, fixing Harry with a look that almost loosened his bowels. He reached up with both hands and felt the crown. "Oh, I suppose you think you are quite clever." He pointed his wand at Harry, who was very sure he was going to need to use a cleaning charm on his pants very soon. "Dare."

That was not the answer Harry was hoping for. "I, um, dare you to tell me the truth about the Unbreakable Vow you made with Malfoy's mother."

The crown made a rude blatting noise. "I believe that is the crown's way of telling you that it thinks you're trying to cheat. Dare, you imbecile."

Harry's mind went blank. This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. "I'm going to fail Defense Against the Dark Arts, aren't I?"

"You can depend on that." Snape began to blink fast. "Give me a dare now, or I will hit you with a nasty hex in a very sensitive place. I should do it anyway, just in case it might prevent more idiot Potters." He lowered his wand until it pointed just south of Harry's equator.

"Tapdance!"

The crown fell off Snape's head and rolled toward Harry, who picked it up before jumping back to make sure he was out of the professor's reach. Tap shoes appeared on Snape's feet, which began to step and slide rhythmically, the shoes making tippity-tappities and soft scrapes. There was absurdly cheerful music playing, which Snape was snapping his fingers to. Snape performed a graceful shuffle, baring his yellow teeth at Harry all the while. "Have I told you lately precisely how much I loathe you?"

"I can guess." Harry backed out of the office, wondering if ever in the history of Hogwarts a student had been murdered by a professor before, or if he would be the first.

At least he'd gleaned some useful knowledge. Parkinson told Malfoy to be a belly-dancer, and Malfoy had actually believed he was a belly-dancer. Harry merely dared Snape to dance, and, while Snape was compelled to dance, he did not think he that he was a dancer. Phrasing mattered.

...

Harry paused outside Slughorn's office door. He could hear someone puttering around inside. No voices, so the potions master was alone. Pounding on the door, Harry shouted, "Professor Slughorn, someone's been poisoned! Help!" The second the door opened, Harry slapped the crown on Slughorn's head. "Truth or dare!"

Slughorn gave Harry a look of keen disappointment. "Really. I'd thought better of your intellect, Potter." He sighed. "Dare." Even his mustache looked sad.

"Forget this ever happened." Harry grabbed the crown and ran away as fast as he could, not responding to Slughorn's confused shouts, and ducked into one of the short-cuts he knew from the Marauder's Map. He paused to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. Clearly, he needed to think things through better.

Hermione was skeptical. "You look fine to me, Harry."

Harry clutched his stomach. "I had a dodgy sausage at breakfast, I think."

"You're not waiting for everyone to leave so you can embark on some half-witted scheme to spy on Malfoy?"

Harry did his best impression of wide-eyed innocence. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're you."

"You don't want him along if he's got the squits," Ginny called out as she walked by with Dean, "he's smelly enough as it is."

Harry shot Ginny a rude hand gesture and a grin. He watched his friends leave the common room, then went up to his dorm to get the crown and wrap his invisibility cloak around himself. Today, most Hogwarts students would be in Hogsmeade. A glance at the Marauder's Map confirmed that Malfoy was not among them. He was alone in the astronomy tower at the moment, which was against school rules; students were only supposed to be there when class was in session.

Harry kept an eye on the map as he worked his way upward. Malfoy was moving down, coming right to Harry. They converged in a hallway lined with bas relief carvings of wizarding history.

Many Hogwarts students dressed in Muggle clothes on the weekends. Not Malfoy. He was wearing archaic-looking robes of grey that emphasized his pallor and gauntness, making him resemble a monk in a painting by El Greco. Harry thought about how the other boy's ribs would be countable, the way his hip bones would protrude... _Stop thinking about Malfoy naked, stop thinking about Malfoy naked_.

Malfoy was walking slowly, arms wrapped around himself, his forehead creased. There was a vulnerability to the tall blond boy that almost made Harry reconsider what he had planned. Almost.

Malfoy stopped abruptly, nostrils flaring. "Who's there?"

Before Malfoy could get his wand out, Harry slammed the crown on his head. "Truth or dare." The invisibility cloak slipped from Harry's shoulders.

Cool grey eyes raked Harry scornfully. "Dare."

Harry deflated. Three out of three... It had seemed like such a good idea yesterday.

"Dare, moron." Malfoy's wand was out now, the tip quivering as it pointed at Harry's head.

So many thoughts cavorted through Harry's mind, a good many of them indecent. "Uh, forget everything that happens in the next two minutes."

The crown popped off and clanged on the floor. Malfoy lifted one white-blond brow. "Two minutes? What could possibly happen in two minutes?"

Harry didn't reply. He stared up into Malfoy's eyes, then lunged into a clumsy kiss.

Malfoy cursed and shoved Harry away. Harry's rump hit the floor hard. "You bit my lip, you nutter!" He touched a finger to his mouth and it came away red and wet. His cheeks were flushed bright pink. Malfoy reached down and yanked Harry back up by the front of his shirt. "What did you do that for?"

"I, I, I just wanted to see what it was like."

"But why?" Malfoy seemed more bewildered than angry. "What sort of game are you trying to play?" His eyes, which had turned a darker shade of grey, bored into Harry's for a long, tense moment. Their faces were only inches apart. The feel of Malfoy's warm breath on his cheek made Harry want to kiss him again. Malfoy's eyes went unfocused and his grip slackened. Harry fell on his butt again.

"What-" Malfoy saw the crown on the floor. Harry, on all fours, scrambled toward it, but Malfoy kicked him out of the way and scooped it up. He slapped it onto Harry's head with far more force than was necessary. "Truth or dare, Potter." He smirked down at Harry.

"Dare."

"Too bad. I would love to know what you were up to." Malfoy swiped at a dribble of blood on his chin. "And why I'm bleeding."

"Dare."

"Look, my robes are even stained, and I just got them."

"Dare."

"What's this?" Harry's stomach dropped when Malfoy picked up the invisibility cloak and stuffed it inside his robes. "I'm sure I can find a good use for this.

"Dare." Harry's eyes were watering.

"Stings a bit, doesn't it?" Malfoy leaned against the wall and examined his fingernails. He started humming a Weird Sisters tune, the one about unicorns and virgins that was banned from the WWN.

"I don't care what you do to me, just make it stop!"

Malfoy leaned down over Harry, who was still sprawled on the floor, with a maddeningly smug smile on his face. "Be my very devoted, loving moggie."

...

Potter's glasses hit the floor with a crack; he no longer had proper human ears to hook them on. Instead, he had black-furred, tufted ones on the top of his head. A long, fluffy tail, also black, wormed its way out of the back of his jeans. A belled collar peeped out above his sweatshirt collar. He blinked up at Draco with eyes that were the same shade of vivid green, but the pupils were slitted. He cocked his head. "Mrrrr?" he trilled questioningly. Then he began scratching his chin with one foot.

Draco was laughing so hard he had to support himself against the wall. His knees went weak, and he slid down to the floor. Cat-Potter bounced over to him, put his hands on Draco's chest, d began kneading and purring. Draco's laughter subsided. _Why does his touch feel so... soothing_? Draco stroked the silky ears, and Potter responded by rubbing his face all over Draco's.

_How much of this will he remember_? Draco found that his memories of being a belly dancer had a misty quality to them. He was fairly certain that he'd flirted shamelessly with Potter. But Potter was now nuzzling Draco's neck, which made things even.

Settling himself in Draco's lap, Potter let out a long sigh and dozed off, his tail curled around him. Draco ran his fingers through the cat-boy's messy hair, which was nearly as soft as the fur on his ears. Potter stirred, but didn't wake. Feeling bolder, Draco touched his face, stroking the scar, the cheekbones, the soft pink lips. "I hate you, you know. It's all your fault. I might be killed, and it's your fault. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

_If you hate him, why does the feel of his warm body on yours make you feel so peaceful_? For the first time in ages, Draco had a sense of quiet contentment. He wanted stay in this hall forever with his arms wrapped around the other boy. "I hate him."

_Liar._

...

It was close to the time for those who'd gone to Hogsmeade to return. Draco pushed Potter from his lap and stood up gingerly. "You're heavy. My legs are asleep."

Potter yawned and did a long cat-stretch, sticking his behind up in the air. His shirt rode up. Draco's eyes were riveted on the upturned bottom and the glimpse of bare torso. Then Potter sat up cat-style, giving Draco a bright-eyed look and swiveling his ears forward. "Meow."

"Meow, indeed." Draco pointed his wand at the crown where it sat on the floor and Transfigured it into a dull silver-colored ring. He slipped it onto a finger. "Don't want to lose that, do we."

"Meep."

Draco wiggled his fingers beckoningly at Potter and set off down the hall. "Come on, let's show everyone what a pretty boy you are." Potter bounded after him on all fours.

It couldn't have been timed better. Draco and his pet reached the Entrance Hall just as dozens of students came pouring through the doors. The squeals of the girls of Hogwarts were nearly deafening. They swarmed around Harry, touching ears and tail. All except Granger, who watched with a pitying smile. "He just can't be left by himself," she said to Ginny Weasley, "he needs a minder."

"What on earth is this unholy noise about?" Snape shoved a few girls aside. When his eyes fell on Potter, he stared, speechless, for a long moment. "Keep him here. I have a treat for him." He hurried away.

Mrs. Norris came slinking into the Entrance Hall, sniffing suspiciously. Potter broke away from the girls and approached the cat in a playful sideways scamper. Mrs. Norris hissed loudly, arching her back, and the cat-boy ran away with tail bushed out and ears flattened. In a panic, he climbed up Draco. Staggering under the weight of his pet, Draco managed to make it to a bench before he collapsed.

"Why a cat? If you'd made him a dog, we could play fetch with him." Crabbe and Goyle, who'd just been relieved of pocket-loads of prank items by Filch, stared down at cat-Potter, not in the least impressed.

"I've had dogs. I could never have a cat because Mother is allergic to them."

Snape returned to the Hall with his hands full of greenery. "Here you go, pussycat." He threw a heap of catnip on the floor in front of the bench. Nose twitching, Potter jumped down to investigate. He sniffed it, then licked and chewed it, wolfing it all down in a state of growing frenzy. When it was gone, he sat with his mouth hanging open, positively wall-eyed with bliss. He rolled onto his back, squirming in spastic ecstasy, with drool running down his chin. His hands and feet punched the air, and his tail thrashed.

A strange noise startled all non-feline students, making some girls squeak fearfully. It was creaky, the sound of something that hadn't been used for a very long time.

Snape was laughing.

..

Potter was sprawled in Draco's lap again, eyes half-closed as Pansy combed his tail. "I like him this way. Perhaps we could keep him like this."

Draco shifted, trying to get some feeling back into his legs. "I'd be permanently paralyzed."

"Prrrt," said Potter.

When she'd gotten Potter's tail all perfectly fluffed, Pansy draped it over her shoulders like a feather boa. She took a piece of string out of her pocket and dangled it. Potter batted at it lazily.

Draco knew there wasn't much time left. He scratched Potter's ears, enjoying his rumbling purr. He did rather wish the other boy would remain his pet, but feared that being so near the affectionate Potter-cat would end up being too much of a temptation. Earlier, Potter had been playing with a toy mouse with his rounded little bottom up in the air again, and it took a lot of resolve on Draco's part to not grab it. If Potter truly believed that he was a cat, some of the things that Draco wanted to do to him were very, very wrong.

The silky ears beneath Draco's fingers vanished. Potter sat straight up, cursing, and Draco shoved him to the floor. Potter sprang up and punched the other boy on the chin. Pansy screamed. "Give me back my cloak!" Potter shouted. Crabbe and Goyle tried to help Draco, but they were tackled by half a dozen Gryffindors. Harry and Draco were rolling on the floor together, snarling like dogs.

"Well, everything is back to normal," Granger said, to no one in particular.

"All students will now exit the Entrance Hall." Snape magically amplified his voice to a painful level. "Stragglers will be required to clean up after Hagrid's latest acquisitions."

As no one wanted to have anything to do with Venezuelan Vampire Skinks, the Hall cleared out quickly.

...

Harry and Hermione sat on a bench in an upper gallery, surrounded by a collection of large porcelain vases they'd never laid eyes on before. Harry had a black eye, a sprained finger, and what he was pretty sure was a bite mark on his ankle, but he had his invisibility cloak back. He'd also gotten a quick grope in. He wasn't proud of himself for that.

"If you'd told me what you were going to do, I would have told you it wouldn't work." Hermione was still looking at Harry like he was mentally defective.

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you."

Hermione laughed. "Honestly, Harry. If you could only have seen yourself all tangled up in a ball of yarn. Well, I'm pretty sure someone took pictures, so you will be able to see yourself. Oh, and do you remember using Crabbe's leg as a scratching post?"

"I'd think that you of all people would have some sympathy for a person who'd been turned into a cat."

"I think we should permanently make you a cat. Then the worst trouble you can get into is jumping up on the table at meal-time."

There was a whizzing sound, and Harry's glasses landed on his face. He'd Accio'd them ten minutes ago. Hermione repaired a cracked lens for him; Harry was capable of doing it himself, but he liked being taken care of in that small way.

Harry coughed, then gagged a little.

"Are you all right?"

Harry spat a disgusting wad into the closest vase. "Just a furball."

PART TWO-SIX YEARS LATER

The first thing Harry did upon waking was put on his glasses. The second thing he did was turn over to look at his lover, a very wide grin on his face as he recalled the previous night. Draco was facing away from him, barely covered by the sheet. He was stirring, so Harry reached out and ran a finger all the way down the indentation of his spine. Draco shivered a little and made an appreciative purring sound. The crown was hanging on a bed post; Harry picked it up and set it on his head.

"Hey, Draco. Dare."

Draco turned over onto his back to look at Harry, and grey eyes went instantly from sleepy to wicked. He stretched as he pondered. "Look like the image I have in my mind."

"Will that even work?" Harry's question was answered immediately when his glasses fell off. Draco was laughing as he helped Harry find his glasses and secure them with a Temoporary Sticking Charm. Harry reached up and touched the tufts on his black-furred ears, and experimented with swishing his long, fluffy tail. He glanced in the dresser mirror. "Matching the collar to my eyes. A nice touch, that. Now put that crown on and say dare." Draco complied; he could be quite submissive when he felt like it. "Look like the image in my mind."

Draco now also had pointed ears with fur that matched his hair, but they were lower and wider. His tail was not quite as long and fluffy as Harry's, but it was still gorgeous. He had a lavender collar around his neck. He hopped off the bed to admire himself in the mirror. "Now, that's just mean. You know how much I loathe lavender." He practiced wiggling his ears, then turned so he could see the whole length of his tail. "I do make a rather fetching ferret, though."

"Quite true." Harry came up behind Draco and slid his tail around the other man's waist. "While we have these new parts, we might as well play with them, hmm?" He stroked one fuzzy ferret ear, which was adorned with the diamond earring he'd given Draco last night.

...

A few hours later, they were eating a late breakfast. Draco had been the one to tell Kreacher to bring it, so it was ample and tasty, but the cantankerous old house elf had very pointedly brought only one plate, one cup, and one set of silverware. Kreacher was still very angry at Harry for the extensive remodeling of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry was feeding Draco bits of toast when there was a loud crack from downstairs. Harry cursed. The wards around his home allowed only close friends to apparate within it, and close friends knew that he did not want to be disturbed today. This wouldn't be good.

"Harry? I'm so sorry to bother you." It was Hermione calling up the stairs, sounding abashed.

"What is it?"

She started up the stairs. "Something big has happened, and the Ministry wants everyone. The only excuses for being absent are being in St. Mungo's or being dead."

"Hold on, we're not decent." Harry gave Draco a frantic look. "I've got to get rid of these," he hissed, tugging at ears and tail. Draco grabbed his wand and tried a Vanishing spell, a Finite, and a Homorphus charm, to no effect. "Maybe just try to make them invisible?" That didn't work, either. Draco started laughing. "It's not funny! I can't go to work like this!" Harry got his own wand and frantically tried a few spells, glaring at Draco, who had thrown himself face-down onto the bed where he was howling into his pillow, tail slapping the mattress hard in sheer glee.

"What's going on in there?" Hermione was just outside the door.

"N-nothing."

"I don't care if you're both naked, I'm coming in." Harry had just enough time to preserve his modesty with his tail before the door opened. Taking in the crown, the filmy black outfit draped across a chair, and the mens' tailed-and-eared state, Hermione grinned. "You two certainly know how to have a good time. And I can tell you've both been working out. Very nice."

"Stop leering at my boyfriend's arse and help me!"

"Don't you know that nothing can be done to counteract the crown's effects?"

"You could try."

"Harry, every attempt will double how long the effects last."

"WHAT? No!" Draco's laugh-attack became so severe, he started hiccuping. Harry hurled a pillow at him, smacking him on the back of his head. "You knew, you bastard!"

Hermione was giving Harry her oh-you-poor-simpleton look. "How many times?"

"Ten."

The corners of her mouth twitched. "It'll be weeks." She unsuccessfully tried to hold back a giggle. "It's your own fault, Harry. You knew what he was like, and you moved him in anyway. You're the frog, he's the scorpion. Ah, I'll step out so you can get dressed." As soon as she stepped into the hall, she broke into gales of laughter.

Harry squinched his eyes shut, rubbed his face hard, then chuckled ruefully. "Why are you so evil?"

"I don't want you to get bored." Draco got up and took Harry's Auror uniform out of the closet.

"I should turn you completely into a ferret and sell you to the Magical Menagerie." Harry held out his arms so Draco could slip his uniform onto him.

"You'd miss me too much." Draco magicked a hole in the seat of Harry's uniform so his tail could stick out comfortably.

"Hmph." Harry kissed Draco on the nose. "Have enough to keep you busy today?"

"Of course. It takes work to be this beautiful."

Harry took his invisibility cloak out of a drawer. "I may need this today. I don't want to shock the Muggles, but I'm so tall now, I have to bend funny to make this cover all of me. Hurts my back."

"I'll give you a massage later." Draco gave Harry a hot-eyed look. Harry paused, licking his upper lip.

"Hurry up, Harry!" Hermione called up the stairs.

With a sigh, Harry headed to the door, getting a smack on the rear-end from Draco's tail. Joining Hermione downstairs, he found her sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace uncomfortably while Kreacher recited a litany of complaints.

"Let's get it over with," Harry groaned.

"So do you think I could borrow the crown? I'd like to spice things up with Ron a little."

...

The moment Harry stepped foot in the Ministry, the laughter started. One witch was so overcome with hilarity, she fainted. Shacklebolt took one look at Harry and set him to work stamping papers in a tiny office far, far away from anyone else. It was dull, but it gave Harry plenty of time to plan his revenge.


End file.
